Okay, I’ll try to explain: Despite the name of the show the actual main character is Will Graham. Will Graham (played by Hugh Dancy) teaches at the FBI-Academy in Virginia and is asked by special-agent Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne) to assist him on a case. Will has something that they call pure empathy – no matter if narcissist or sociopath, Will can empathize with anybody. Whenever he enters a crime scene he relives what the murderer did, he instantly knows the motivation and plans of the killer, he can see it like a film, he can think what the murderer was thinking, feel what the murderer was feeling. While this makes him an incredible profiler it is also a curse: seeing the most horrible crime scenes imaginable and reliving these crimes in his head over and over again is something really hard to cope with. Will emphasizes so completely with other people that social contact is difficult for him, he is socially inapt, a loner, seemingly too fragile and unstable for a job that tough. To make sure that Will is alright, Jack Crawford asks Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) for help: a well-respected psychiatrist whom he asks to keep an eye on Will. What no one knows is that Dr. Lecter secretly is a serial killer who likes to eat people. So while Will tries to help the FBI solve cases, the most dangerous serial killer, the Chesapeake Ripper, is still on the loose – but he might be much closer than they expect….
 
The show is based on the characters of the book Red Dragon by Thomas Harris but it follows another continuity than both the book and the film.
 
It is a pretty gory show but beautifully shot and brilliantly written, with very well drawn characters and an amazing cast.

More info here: http://nbc.com/hannibal

Watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HW9rtFYsEw
 

Last edited by Lily (June 20, 2013 7:24 pm)

He is good but I still hate him. (Not Mikkelsen but the character.)

The final episode will air in five hours and I haven't been more afraid of anything since The Reichenbachfall.

LILY I AM TOTALLY WITH YOU ON THIS

I've watched the entire series twice now and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. Hannibal is my new fandom, definitely.

THIS IS MY DESIGN

I read "Red Dragon" years ago, that was excellent. 
I like "Silence of the Lambs", film and book, and hated the book "Hannibal" which I put away after the first 30 or so pages. 
I reads about the series which sounds interesting but I'm not totally sure it's my cup of tea. But I'd give it a try. 
 

Sherlock Holmes, I am so exited about you joining me! :D

There are links for the show online but I'm not sure if it's alright to post them?
The episodes are also available for downloading on Amazon and the DVD will be released in September.
It will be aired in Germany in autumn.

I was SO sceptical at first because I knew how gory it was and I usually don't like that kind of thing at all. It actually took me some time to get into it but after a few episodes I went from 'Well, it seems interesting' to absolutely loving that show. I found it really painful to watch, though. Not because of the blood or the body horror but because of the psychological themes. At first glance it seems to be a crime series but I think it's actually a psycho thriller. It is not really a procedural show - even though there is another crime every episode, the story focuses on Will Graham's story and his relationship with Hannibal Lecter. Many of the cases are connected and play a bigger role in the overall story.
The terrible thing while watching is that we as the viewers know what it going on - we know who Hannibal is and what he does and we see him manipulating the people around him and especially Will. We see Will's life going downhill and his sutuation getting worse every episode and we know what is really going on and we just can't do anything about it.

I'm sorry, I just got very attached to that character and I'm still not over the finale.

Oh, and did I mention Alana Bloom? She is one of the best female characters I have ever seen on a tv show. She is played by Caroline Dhavernas who is wonderful anyway and she simply has an amazing personality. She is brilliant and clever and sassy and honest and caring and she is just a deeply emotional person. She is wonderful because she is able to show emotions without looking weak and speaking her mind without coming across as arrogant. Even Hannibal likes and respects her and her interaction with Will is so sweet and utterly heartbreaking.

Actually all the characters are really well written. Actually the whole show is amazing.

Last edited by Lily (July 30, 2013 9:29 pm)

And he didn't eat her for it!

Hannibal Gag Reel:


(at least a small part of it, the whole thing will be on the dvd)

Will Graham laughing. Can you believe it.

I think I never cried so early in any season finale.

The scenes with Alana... her tears... her shouting... the look in her eyes.
They way she shouted at Jack - 'I TOLD YOU NOT TO PUT HIM OUT THERE' - that was so intense. Her breakdown in the car afterwards and then when she came to see Will and her small broken 'Hi'. I have tears in my eyes every time I think about that scene. And her little hopeful smile when she saw the clock... when she realised what was really wrong.

By the way, a few days ago Bryan Fuller confirmed that Abel Gideon is alive!! I'm so excited. He was there in 'Rôti', he will remember what Hannibal told him and - if he wants to - he can testify against Hannibal. The question is just if he would be seen as a reliable witness and if there would be a reason for him to help Will (who nearly killed him) and to testify against Hannibal.

They even used the song from Silence Of The Lambs, Vide Cor Meum. 

I found the first two episodes in German yesterday. The good thing is that I can now show it to everyone and annoy people even more with talking about the show. The bad thing is that in the German dubbing Will really does sound unstable and a bit whiny and kind of out of control. He just seems different.
In the original he comes across as sensitive but strong and self-aware and I love his sassyness and his cynicism.
I never had the impression that he really was unstable, just that people called him that because they didn't understand him. Being sensitive doesn't make you mentally unstable. Hugh Dancy managed to convey this difference with his voice, the dubbing actor doesn't really do this. He is not bad but Will just comes across as so different with this voice and I'm afraid that German viewers might not like him because he sounds so whiny and a bit crazy.
And Alana sounds less sassy too and a bit like a school girl.
And they changed 'This is my design' to 'Das ist mein Ziel' ('This is my intention/aim/goal') and that just changes the meaning of the whole phrase and was so unnecessary.
Still it's better than the dubbing of Sherlock, I think. At least they know that friends don't say 'Sie' to each other, that's a small gleam of hope.